So one huge hurdle with tracking calories and trying to eat healthy is not knowing any nutritional information for 1/3 of my meals for the day. That’s right. It seems pointless to track my food when, in all honesty, I have no idea what I eat for lunch sometimes. Sure, I eat a serving size (or less) of rice. Sure, I eat kimchi (every single lunch time). But the other 3 sides are a mystery. How am I supposed to track the soups? Or the weird meat +veggie+sauce concoctions? Or the *moan* nasty fish cake? Oh wait, I refuse to eat the fish cake. You get what I mean. Although I can try to guestimate lunch calories, it’s not easy.
Well, today I have some semblance. I snatched a lunch menu off of a student who wasn’t paying attention, and noticed that there is some nutritional information listed on each day. Even though I don’t know exactly what I am putting into my body, at least I have some idea of the calories, fat, sugars etc. That sounds all exciting, except for one small thing. I don’t eat a full serving size of everything. Lately I don’t eat much from the lunch menu at all. I don’t even know what the serving size for each thing should be. Regardless, it’s something to get me through until next semester. I am trying to decide if I should make the big leap. You know what leap I am referring to: bringing lunch from home.
Why, what an easy solution! Not really. I mean, a lot of foreigners refuse to eat school lunch, many making their case known within the first week at school. Because I am not a picky eater, I decided it would make a good impression to suck it up and eat with the rest of the teachers everyday in the cafeteria. You might not think it’s a big deal to eat different food or to sit alone at your desk, but in Korea, it could be taken the wrong way. While some schools don’t wave a finger at that type of behavior, many Koreans think it’s rude to eat in seclusion. Have I mentioned how community-driven these people are? Well, they are VERY into group bonding and sharing. Koreans share everything. If one brings a clementine in for a snack, 99% of the time you see them split it into pieces to share. Although many in the west might view this as too much, it’s never too much in Korea.
So you can see where it might be awkward choosing to eat alone at your desk while the rest of the teachers “enjoy” lunch together. Luckily for me, I don’t think it will be a huge deal. I think I will continue to pay for the measly monthly lunch fee so that I can still join in every now and then, but next semester I am going to spring the news to my co teacher and see what she says. After all, they all know I am dieting, which is taken very seriously here. Hopefully they won’t think too much of it, since I have participated in every activity they have ever had.
Bringing in leftovers and making myself a salad for lunch every day sounds absolutely amazing. It’s the little things in life, seriously. You don’t think about how great it is to make your own lunch selection every day until you are stuck eating Korean food on metal trays like an inmate every weekday. Ick.
Wouldn't worry about dropping the lunches. You are doing it for the right reasons and you have proven that you "like" Korean food.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking from experience, don't underestimate what a pain in the ass it can be knowing that you "have to" make a lunch every night or morning. It's probably a good idea to keep paying for the school lunches as backup. Have your coteacher give you a menu each month and put it on the fridge at home. That way you know in advance if the lunch is edible or not.